One of the things I most enjoy about life on a North Western peninsula, is the abundance of spectacular coastal sunsets. Often awe inspiring and always unique, a west coast sunset is a great way to bring any day to a close.

New Brighton seat

When I first moved to the North West of England from the South East, I used to often cycle to the nearby beaches of New Brighton to watch the setting sun slowly melt into the horizon beyond the golden waves of the Irish Sea. I would sit there and watch ships come and go, reading their names to try and figure out where they were from. Sometimes I would imagine what life on a ship that size must be like, how different it must be from mine.

I must have spent hours watching the same sun fall behind the same horizon, but never has it been wasted time. I think perhaps we could all benefit from taking a little time out of our hectic routines to unplug, switch off, and just look around once in a while, to soak up the surroundings, and catch our breath. Sometimes I think it’s escaped peoples notice how breathless they have become in pursuit of a happiness that they would struggle to describe if asked to.

Burbo Bank Wind Farm

Perch Rock Lighthouse, New Brighton, Wirral

There’s an old lighthouse at Perch Rock, New Brighton, where the River Mersey spills into the cold Irish Sea. It’s a lonely figure that stands in contrast to the modern offshore wind turbines that rotate serenely in the distance generating electricity to satisfy our unquenchable thirst for power.

I’ve not stood in its shadow for years so on Saturday evening I decided to wander out to it and snap a few pictures as planes drew lines to and from America in the darkening sky above.

Perch Rock Lighthouse, New Brighton, Wirral

Perch Rock Lighthouse, New Brighton, Wirral

Having so many beaches so close at hand is a luxury for someone who enjoys stopping to marvel at the wonder of the world. Sunsets on the west coast are simply awesome, they are beautifully dramatic and possessing of a near hypnotic power that can entrance anyone, young or old.

I often reach for my camera as the clouds glow like embers and the sky begins to blaze. But more often than not I choose to just sit there and witness the event, knowing that no matter how good any photograph might be, there are some scenes so stirring and magnificent that a photograph can do little to record them, some moments that are so glorious and free that nothing of heaven or earth could ever capture them.

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As the sun goes down
Port in a storm
Hide and seek
Big picture, little post
Secret sunset
A bridge of stars